


The 10 Rules of Loving Nico di Angelo From Afar

by ThatBlueHairedGirl



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, M/M, nico why are you even surprised at this point, oblivious Jason, wow jason is such a nerd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2015-07-21
Packaged: 2018-04-10 10:50:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4388948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatBlueHairedGirl/pseuds/ThatBlueHairedGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a how-to manual by Jason Grace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The 10 Rules of Loving Nico di Angelo From Afar

Step One

 

Try not to watch while he kisses Will Solace. Will makes Nico happy, and making Nico happy makes you happy. He’s good for Nico.  
Stop wishing you were Will.  
Stop longing to touch Nico how Will touches Nico.  
Stop staring like the creepy stalker you are.  
Just stop.  
Also, stop listening when Nico talks about Will. You’ll die inside but you’ll smile anyway, because Nico’s your friend, and he doesn’t know you want to be more. So just nod, pretend to watch him grin like a kid, pretend to hear his laughter when he retells Will’s joke.  
Pretend not to notice that Nico gets up and leaves your lunch table to go sit at Will’s, and maybe it won’t hurt so much.  
Pretend not to notice that he still flinches away from your touch sometimes, and maybe you won’t hate whoever has made him this way.  
Pretend not to reap satisfaction from that fact that he still flinches away from Will’s sometimes too, and maybe you won’t smile at Will’s face dropping.  
Deny that you want to rip Will Solace’s heart from his chest, and maybe you won’t realize you want this because this is what he is doing to you.  
Deny that you sometimes imagine Nico lying in bed beside you when you can’t fall asleep, and maybe you won’t dream of him for the next week.  
Deny that you have any feelings at all for Nico di Angelo, and maybe they’ll go away.  
Pretend, and deny, and pretend, and deny, and maybe you’ll move on.

Step Two

 

Laugh when he laughs, smile when he smiles, and ignore the way Hazel looks at you funny and Piper smirks when she passes you in the hall. Ignore how Annabeth makes convenient excuses to leave you and Nico alone together. Ignore how Percy is happily oblivious, how he makes jokes about Nico’s many secret admirers. Just ignore. Tell Hazel nothing’s wrong, tell Piper to shut up, tell Annabeth to stop playing wingman. Don’t tell Percy anything, because if Percy knows, Nico will probably know too, because Percy can’t keep a secret.  
Do not lean into Nico’s touch when he bumps into you in the training arena.  
Make sure you tell him your foolproof Valentine’s gifts, Piper tested and approved. And when he says thanks and hugs you (platonically, of course), tell him, “Any time, buddy.” (Cringe internally at your don’t-worry-I’m-totally-straight use of “buddy”.)  
Cringe internally when Nico is long gone but you are still staring at the spot where he stood.  
Watch from far, far away as Nico plays out the Valentine date you wished he would have with you, and don’t make eye contact when Reyna catches you pining and tells you to stop being so passive.  
Tell her, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  
Don’t hang around to see the pity in her eyes.  
Don’t hang around to see the goodnight kiss between Will and Nico.  
Don’t hang around, because your heart will break into a thousand pieces.

 

Step Three

 

Remember how Thalia told you once that you loved too much, with your whole heart. Remember, then immediately vow to forget because this hits too close to home.  
How much can you love someone until you have no love left to give? 

 

Step Four

 

Tell Will Nico’s favourite colour when he asks and give him your key to Nico’s cabin when he asks and help him every time he asks, because you are Nico’s best friend and it is expected of you.  
Thank the gods that Will doesn’t notice how your voice breaks when you reassure him that Nico loves him.  
Help Will plan a breakfast in bed for Nico, and make sure you tell him no pomegranates, and make sure you don’t conveniently leave out that he is allergic to pineapple, because what a way to ruin a romantic birthday gift.  
Break into Nico’s cabin when he is away on a quest and steal his hoodie but don’t keep it for yourself. No, give it to Will, because he misses Nico, and you are not allowed to miss Nico in that way. Don’t breathe in his scent because you’ll want to stuff his sweater under your pillow, and that is not allowed either. Friends don’t get high off the scent of other friends.  
Do not acknowledge that calling him a friend kills you inside.  
When the Seven have a movie night and Nico buries his face in Will’s shoulder during Saw IV, resist the urge to bury your face into the ground. Instead, watch how Piper refuses to look at Reyna, because even though you broke up with Piper a month ago she refuses to admit that she has a thing for your old colleague. Watch how Annabeth and Percy whisper in each other’s ear, think about how these things are most definitely not PG and think about how you most definitely want to do these things with Nico. Watch how you don’t watch the movie at all, watch how you watch the characters being torn apart instead of watching Nico and being torn apart yourself.

Step Five

 

When Nico tells you that he and Will are fighting ignore that too. It will only give you false hope.

Step Six

 

When Nico knocks on your door at four a.m. because he and Will have broken up, offer a bed for him in your cabin, but do not offer your own bed, no matter how much you want to.  
Ignore how he doesn’t seem upset that they’ve broken up.  
Try not to cry when he says it’s because he’s in love with someone else, and you know that that someone else is most definitely not you.  
Excuse yourself to the bathroom and kick the wall and swear because great, just another reason you can't have Nico di Angelo.

 

Step Seven

 

Lie still when you wake up and Nico is in your bed anyways, back to back, but you can feel your heartbeat.  
Pretend to sleep so you can lie here a little longer, so you can remember this a little longer, and so when you dream about the events of last night being a little less family-friendly, you can remind yourself that all you two did was sleep.  
Lie still so Nico doesn’t get up, but he does anyway and says, “Thanks for letting me stay,” and you say, “My pleasure,” but really it was the opposite. Being so close but unable to touch is worse than knowing that even after Will is gone there is still someone Nico loves, and it isn’t you.

 

Step Eight

 

Agree wholeheartedly when Nico asks if you want to skip training today to stay in your cabin and play Scrabble. Let him win, or don’t, because you’re distracted by how cute he is when he’s thinking so he wins anyway.  
Finally decide that it’s time to stop being distracted. That it’s time he knows so you can torture yourself some more.  
Close your eyes and begin to say, “Nico, I−“  
Watch how he rolls his eyes and enjoy it when he leans across the board and kisses you.

 

Step Nine

 

Pull back because you’re in shock.  
“It was you, Jason, you big dumb idiot,” Nico says bemusedly. “I broke up with Will because I’m in love with you.”  
Resume kissing.

Step Ten

 

Hold your boyfriend’s stupid hand and kiss his stupid face and remember that he likes you, he likes you, and you can stop torturing yourself.  
Oh, and stop writing this manual. You’ve finally got Nico, you want someone else to steal him away?


End file.
